President Obama and his family will be visiting two of America’s premier national parks during the fee-free weekend of August 15 and 16. On Saturday, they will take in the sights at Yellowstone National Park and on Sunday they’ll participate in a short Grand Canyon tour. The visits are part of the administration’s push to get Americans to take more of an interest in visiting our national parks. 

Earlier this year, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior under Obama, initiated the fee free weekends to encourage domestic travel this summer. The August weekend is the third of the summer and is expected to be the most successful, particularly at Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon with the First Family visiting. The President is also planning on holding town hall meetings for his health care plan in Grand Junction (Saturday) and Phoenix (Sunday). In Phoenix he’ll be speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a summer time Presidential tradition. 

For those looking to travel this weekend you couldn’t pick a better time to visit either the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. In addition to seeing some of the most breathtaking sights in North America you might also get a glimpse of the First Family and if you like you can participate in a debate that has been in the headlines for years now, the question of affordable health care. The combination could make for an educational and exciting weekend for the entire family.

Presidential visits to the Grand Canyon are nothing new. Teddy Roosevelt was quite fond of the Canyon and a major force behind its becoming a national park, though the bill making it official wasn’t passed until 1919, when Woodrow Wilson was President. Yellowstone was also a favorite of Roosevelt, an avid hunter and one who appreciated the natural beauty of our national parks and game preserves. Obama is not expected to be doing any hunting this weekend, but he’ll no doubt take a shot or two in his town hall health care meetings.   

If you already have a Grand Canyon tour or Yellowstone vacation planned for this weekend and don’t want to deal with the crowds that will no doubt be attracted by the Presidential visit you could try the north rim of the Canyon or visit the back country trails around Yellowstone Lake. Be prepared to walk, though. There are no roads back there and you’ll need to carry everything you need on your back.